Permafrost
by Notary Sojac
Summary: When a woman is discovered nearly dead in the woods, three lives collide: The survivor, trying to prevent more tragedy, even at the cost of a friend. The thief, torn between a debt and the reality of her own destructive nature. The mechanic, whose quest to free her town may come at the cost of everything she is. All three must answer a question: if they survive, what will remain?
1. Prologue: Tomorrow Never Came

**So this is a project I've been working on for a while now, and should hopefully be posting fairly consistently (I'm thinking on an every other week basis, at least until I'm done with grad school applications in January.) For some basic background, it's set roughly 7 years post-Calamity appearing and roughly 5 years before the beginning of _Steelheart_, with an all-OC cast. This fic will get somewhat dark, so please PM me if you need me to give you any warnings.**

**With all that out of the way, I hope you enjoy this!**

**Prologue: Tomorrow Never Came**

Evan Harris's life was one big, messy pile of 'should have's.

Right now, his team should have been packing up for the next mission. He should have been putting things into boxes, all the while making sure Lief didn't break anything. Thomas and Elaine should have been busy discussing strategy. Julie—His thoughts broke off.

They weren't here anymore. They never would be. Their bodies stank silently in the midday heat.

Evan picked himself up. He needed to move forward. That's what everybody else would have done. Sparks, why? Why was he the one that was left, the one who could fight the least (okay, better than Elaine, but lorists didn't count)? What had happened to make him the one who was spared?

No. He had to think of something else. The only thing waiting for him at the end of that road was madness. Evan had to focus on what was next.

What was next, even? The plan was to go to Detroit to hit Spearfall, but he had a feeling there were more important things to do now. _Calamity,_ he thought. _I don't even have a team to do that with, even if I wanted to go there._ And that brought him back to the thoughts he was trying desperately to push to the side.

He had to give his friends at least some kind of burial, that was certain. Evan took a sharp intake of breath and shuddered at the thought of them being left here to rot or be eaten by scavengers. Human or animal, he didn't know, and honestly didn't want to.

Evan turned to look at the safehouse. (Could he even call it that anymore?) It was a run-down wooden building of the sort that was common around here. The remnants of white paint had long ago peeled away, with only faint streaks remaining as a reminder of what had been. The roof was missing many of its shingles, and he had the feeling that, had they been here when it rained, it would have leaked.

It didn't matter now. They would never need it again. Evan hesitated upon opening the door. He didn't believe in ghosts, but the memories around this house seemed almost tangible. Screaming. The sharp, silver flash of a knife, faster than her eye could track, faster than what should have been possible. Nowhere to hide. _Stop it,_ he thought. _It's safe here. _For now, anyway. The Epic who had done this had run off when Evan had figured out her weakness, but that was no guarantee she wouldn't come back. Most of them didn't like leaving jobs undone, particularly when their weaknesses were involved. Whatever he did, he had to be quick.

Evan steeled himself and pulled open the door. The stench inside the building made him nearly gag, but he kept going. He needed Thomas's mobile. As the leader, Thomas was the only one who was in contact with any of the other cells, and if he was to have a hope of stopping this from happening again, he needed help.

The room inside was a mess. Bits of plaster hung down from the ceiling where bullets had hit it, and there wasn't a table in sight that wasn't overturned, smashed, or both. Elaine's body lay near the remains of the table they used for medical examinations. She had been their medic. She was the first one to die.

Lief lay nearby, crouched behind an old bookshelf they had re-purposed for storage. He had been trying to use it for cover while he shot at the Epic. His crushed-in skull was evidence enough that it wasn't enough. Evan closed his eyes. He had to keep on task.

Carefully, he made her way over to what was left of her team leader. Numerous objects around his body, from old books to a dingy, discarded lamp, were strewn around where he lay, and the walls around him were covered in bullet holes. He had put up quite a fight. Not that it mattered, in the end. Evan plugged his nose and reached into Thomas's pocket for his mobile.

Searching further in the room, and trying his best not to look at the bodies lying on the floor, Evan searched for the other items he needed to grab. A few minutes' search found a lighter, some old papers he could use as tinder, and an accelerant they had kept for this very occasion. This safehouse was known now, and any evidence they had been here needed to be destroyed. When he was done, there would be nothing to find, just another burnt-out building in a city that was falling apart anyway.

A voice in his mind that Evan, with a wince, recognized as Julie's reminded him that he needed to get out of the area as soon as he got the fire going. Everyone for miles around would see the smoke, and the best he could hope for was for scavengers to come looking to profit off the chaos. At worst-

No. He couldn't think about that. His hands shook as she prepared the fire, and the lighter sputtered several times as she tried to get a spark. After several minutes of trying, he succeeded. The fire was still small. _Hopefully it will be enough,_ Evan thought. He felt a twinge of regret at having to leave all the information they had gathered behind to be burned, but it had to be that way. There was no way he could carry all of it without looking conspicuous, and if anyone else were to discover it-

It was better this way. Better for memories to be all that was left of his friends.

With one sad look behind him, he bolted for the door, not wanting to stay one more minute in that house. There was only one more thing left to do.

His hands shook as she flipped through Thomas's contacts, before finding the one he needed. Jonathan Phaedrus. He had wanted to meet him, once upon a time. _If only it could be under better circumstances_, Evan thought. He steadied his hands while composing his message. "This is Evan Harris, Rocky Mountain cell technical specialist," he typed. "Requesting immediate assistance."

Evan paused. The memories he'd been trying to hold back came flooding back. _No, I have to focus, _he thought. "Julie's an Epic. I'm the only one left." He shuddered. More memories came. Julie coming back, covered in lacerations no one should have survived. The cuts healing, right before her team's eyes. The glint off her teeth as her friend's face warped into a sneer. _Focus!_ He screamed inside his own head. _I need to keep this professional. _He erased the last sentence. Too dramatic. "No other known survivors," he wrote. "Confirmed healing and strength," he continued, trying to pin himself down onto something solid. This was just another mission. He could do that. "Magnitude of abilities suggests other potential powers. Will send detailed report for lorists when position is secured."

"She's still alive. I'm sorry." Calamity, he was useless, wasn't he? Not to mention, of all of the possible ways he could get introduced to one of his heroes, this had to be one of the worst. Before Evan could lose his nerve, he hit the "send" button.

He looked up, into the bright light of noon and the mountains all around him. Evan had hesitated before, had looked into Julie's eyes and seen his friend, not the monster she had become. "Next time," he said out loud, even though only the wind and the crows circling overhead would hear him.

Next time he would take his shot. Next time, Julianne Winters, or whatever mockery of herself she had become, would die.


	2. Chapter 1: A World About to Dawn

**Nothing much to say except that I'm sorry about the wait. **

**Warnings: Blood, Nearly dead person, reference to famine, cannibalism mention**

July 9, 7 AC

That afternoon, it was quiet in the Bridger Mountains. A thick blanket of snow covered the landscape, smothering all sound except for the faint hush of the wind in the trees. All of the animals had long since fled to warmer areas, adding a depth to the silence that still seemed strange after all of the time Anna had to get used to it. She couldn't help but wonder if it was the same silence that was at the end of worlds.

She pulled her coat in tighter as she trudged through the snow. Trust Ed to pick out a meeting place even further into the middle of nowhere than everything else around here was. It's almost as if he wanted her to get frostbite. A gust of wind blew a flurry of snowflakes into her face. Anna pulled her scarf back up on her face from where it had slipped down.

A figure in a dark coat came out from behind a nearby cluster of trees. "Speak of the devil," she muttered. "Ed," she said in a louder voice. "Good to see you!"

The man drew closer. "Took you long enough!"

"Aunt Clara was running me on errands all day. I got off to a bit of a late start."

Ed pulled out a package from his coat. "She still is. One set of completely pointless antibiotics, coming right up."

Anna reached out and accepted the package. For all Ed's flippancy, it still looked to be in somewhat good condition from the outside. She could hope that the contents were the same. "I still don't know why you and your aunt stay here," Ed said.

"She's a doctor. Helping people who need it's kind of her job."

"And you?" Anna turned and placed the package in her bag.

She turned back to face Ed."Thank you. You didn't have to do this."

"What can I say, I like lost causes. The money helps too. Speaking of which?" He put out his hand.

Anna fished around in her coat, pulling out a couple of assorted necklaces and a bottle of Dale's moonshine. "This is train robbery, by the way."

Ed shrugged. "Steelheart's cracking down. I barely got these out of Newcago with my life."

"You, Edwin Russell, smuggler extraordinaire? You astound me."

Ed scowled. "I'd like to see you try it."

"Me?" Anna pointed to herself. "I'm nowhere near that crazy."

"Just crazy enough to stay in this dump of a town."

Anna looked down, then back up at Ed. "You know why I'm still here. I'd love to go traveling like you, but-" she broke off.

"I know. You have your duty, and as long as you're here, you'll do it. Even if it kills you."

"I wouldn't get that dark, but yes. I don't think it'll come to that, though."

Ed turned to go. "Just make sure you know what you're signing up for," he said.

As his figure vanished behind the trees, the woods grew silent once more. Anna bent over and put the medicines in her pack. They weren't enough (with how many people were sick and dying, what would be?), but they would help. Help keep them alive for just a bit longer, until-. She shook her head. No. Miracles didn't exist, and the only heroes left were the ones that remained in moldy old comic books. If anything was to be done about her situation, she would have to do it herself.

Anna walked more slowly on her way back. Though her pack wasn't much heavier in reality, in her mind it carried the weight of everything that was still holding her here. There was another reason, too. Out here, though the cold winds threatened to steal what little warmth she had left, it was calm. Peaceful, even. Much better than the living graveyard her town had turned into.

The wind had died down some from before. Up in the sky, the Sun shone through a thin layer of clouds, brightening the snow around her to an almost unbearable shade. Anna pulled down her tinted goggles to try and cut down the glare. She looked around. Surely there had to be _something_ in this snow-covered wilderness that wasn't snowy, blinding, white.

Then she saw it. Glittering on the snowy ground, in shiny speckles following a set of footprints were red, sparkling, nearly-frozen dots of blood. And if Anna had to guess, relatively fresh. She examined the footprints more closely. If there was an injured animal out there, depending on its size it could be a lot of food for a community that so desperately needed it. Anna's stomach almost growled at the thought. She knelt down for a closer look.

The footprints were human.

Anna shuddered in disgust. She wasn't _that_ desperate for food. Disgust turned to worry. Considering how fresh the footprints and blood seemed to be (the falling snow had barely covered them, and the blood was still partially liquid despite the low temperatures), there was a good chance that whoever it was that left the footprints was still alive.

Anna hurried along the path the footprints made, before the falling snow could cover them any further. _Or before whoever made them bleeds out. Or freezes to death. Whichever happens first,_ Anna thought. She moved faster, despite the weight of her pack and her feet sinking into the thick snow. _Good thing I'm this far east,_ she thought. A wetter climate would mean much more underbrush she would have to deal with, which would mean even slower going, if it were possible. As it was, there were still more bushes that she had to dodge than she would like.

As she followed them, the prints got fresher, while the blood spots became less frequent. _Maybe the person's wounds were old,_ she thought. Or maybe they were just running out of blood to lose. _No_, she reassured herself._ There's nowhere near enough blood for that_. She shivered as another gust of wind hit her, burning the tiny bit of skin that was exposed near the bridge of her nose. The tracks got closer together and more erratic as she followed them. The person, whoever it was, was likely stumbling around. Not a good sign, particularly in this weather.

After an eternity, she came across a figure leaning up against a scrubby pine tree. Human, likely a woman, probably between 20 and 30 years of age. She moved toward it. "Can you hear me," she asked the person. Several seconds went by without a response.

Just as Anna was about to move closer to determine whether the woman was still conscious, she heard a faint voice coming from her. The woman mumbled faintly, but whatever she was saying was too garbled to be made out. _Delirious probably. I hope I got to her in time._

Anna leaned in and looked the woman in the eye. "It's going to be okay. Just try to stay awake," she said.

It was time to get to work. Anna assessed the woman lying on the ground. Her injuries didn't look to be actively bleeding that hard, if at all, but she didn't want to move her too sharply in case there was anything internal. On the other hand, her clothes looked extremely lightweight for this weather, and if she did nothing the woman may not survive until Aunt Clara got there. _At least they were dry,_ Anna thought.

"Being really careful it is," Anna muttered, rummaging around in her pack for the spare clothes she kept for emergencies. She pulled out a small sleeping bag, as well. It wasn't much, but she couldn't exactly pack much heavier with her.

Anna worked quickly, wrapping blankets and her extra sweater around the woman. As she looked closer, she noticed the woman's wounds appeared to be shallower than the dried blood on her clothing suggested. "At least there's that going for me," she said to no one in particular.

She pulled out the radio at her belt. Working batteries were a rarity, so she made sure to only use her radio for emergencies. Anna was pretty sure this counted.

Anna pressed the push-to-talk button. "Base, this is K7ALC," she said into the microphone, using her old pre-Calamity callsign. It wasn't as if she needed it anymore, as she was one of the only people in hundreds of miles with a working radio, but she kept it regardless. She had earned it, and it was going to take more than the end of the world to get her to leave it behind.

Dale, one of her friends back in town, had a small windmill he used to power a base station back in town. Static roared back at her through the speaker for several minutes. She repeated her call. More static. _Calamity's fires, if this is the one time you're not listening to this—_She couldn't even think of a proper threat to say in response.

"Anna, this is Base," came a harsh, crackly voice from the radio. Anna released her breath.

"I hear you," she said, as soon as she could find the words to do so. "I've got a medical emergency up here." She took a second to visualize where she was. "I'm about 150 meters south of the drop point." She took a second, realizing an important thing she forgot to say. "And no, it isn't me," she said.

There was a whoosh of static from the other end that sounded a lot like a sigh being let out. "Say that first next time, will you?" Dale said. He spoke again, this time in a more collected tone. "I'll get your aunt up there as soon as she can."

"Good," Anna replied. "I found a woman up in the woods. Jane Doe, probably in her twenties. The patient seems delirious but appears to be still somewhat responsive, though not making much sense. As far as I can tell, it's probably hypothermia. Also, there looks like there's some injuries as well, though they don't look too bad. I tried to wrap her in whatever warm stuff I had on me, but I'm really not equipped for this right now." A pause, while Anna collected her thoughts.

"Any idea how she got up here?"

Static filled the air. "Hopefully she can tell us that. Anything else?"

"Can you repeat your location?" Anna did so. "I'm off to tell your aunt." Another pause. "Good luck."

Looking at the woman one more time, Anna sat down on a nearby rock to wait.

About fifteen minutes later, Anna was greeted by the muffled sound of hoofbeats as Aunt Clara crested the hill on her horse Buttercup.

Aunt Clara took off her helmet, and looked Anna in the eye. "Any new developments?" she asked.

"Nothing I've noticed." Her aunt turned and started to load the woman onto a stretcher, muttering to herself notes about the woman's condition and wondering aloud how she could have gotten out here. "Do you need me for anything else?"

"I think I've got it pretty covered." She started strapping the stretcher to the sledge that Buttercup pulled behind it. "Are you fine walking? There's only enough room for me and her."

"Upstaged by a complete stranger," Anna said. Aunt Clara crossed her arms. "Joking. I should be fine."

"Good. I expect to see you back in one piece."

"You worry way too much."

Aunt Clara gestured to the woman on the stretcher. "You wouldn't be the first to get in trouble out here."

"I'll be careful. Don't worry about me."

Aunt Clara turned to get on Buttercup. "I'll see you back in town."

"You too," Anna said, strapping her snowshoes back on her feet.

Anna was soon alone again. She set off in the direction of town on her snowshoes. Her pace was quicker than before. While there was really nothing left for Anna to do until the woman recovered, she wanted to talk to her when she woke up.

The woman might just be the hope she desperately needed.


	3. Chapter 2: Another Story Must Begin

**Okay, that was a while. I mainly blame grad school applications and my own perfectionism. **

Chapter 2: Another Story Must Begin

July 10, 07 AC

Despite the fact that she had stayed up late waiting outside, Anna woke early. She returned to the sturdy chair outside to continue her watch. Aunt Clara had banished Anna from the infirmary the previous night, claiming that Anna would wear a hole in the floor.

Anna blinked her eyes. Not for the first time since Calamity's rise, she wished she had coffee. Alas, useful things like working trade were long in the past. _Out here at least,_ Anna thought. Again, she wondered what life would have been like had she settled down in one of the cities. The descriptions Ed gave her almost seemed like places out of another world. Places full of wonder. _And danger, _she thought. _Not that there's any shortage of that here. _

She glared down into her cup of tea. It was some herbal blend Aunt Clara had stashed away before Permafrost had come. There was far too much chamomile in it for her taste, and if Anna had to be honest, she could tell why it was still in her cupboard. At least it was warm.

Anna jumped, spilling some of her tea on her, as the door to the infirmary opened.

"You are still there, aren't you," Aunt Clara said as Anna wiped the tea off her skirt.

"Are you kidding? This is the most interesting thing that's happened here in weeks," Anna replied. Aunt Clara sighed and looked off into the distance, before looking back at her niece. "Any idea how she got here?"

"No," Aunt Clara replied, closing her eyes. "That's what worries me," she said. "No one just goes on a hike around here without a good reason."

"It could be just curiosity," Anna said. "You have to admit, anyone walking through here would think the weather is acting pretty weird, even for here."

"I hope it's that." Aunt Clara looked away again. Anna could tell she was keeping something from her, though she wasn't sure how far she wanted to press it.

"Something weird is going on, isn't it," Anna said. "Something weirder than a mystery woman in the woods, I mean."

Aunt Clara sighed and closed her eyes. "There wasn't any frostbite. None. Even though she had to have been out there for hours." She looked up at Anna. "There weren't any other layers you took off before I got there?"

"There were a couple of wet things, yeah," Anna said. "She definitely wasn't dressed for the weather, though." Anna stopped. "You don't think-"

"I hope I'm wrong."

"But you don't think so."

"There were other things too. Her recovery in general-"

"Way too quick, right?" Aunt Clara nodded. Anna hugged her aunt. "With any luck, she'll be gone soon."

Aunt Clara sighed. "I suppose you're right." She looked out the window at the downpour of snow. "There's not really much to conquer out here, anyway."

Anna slapped her forehead. "Sparks," she said. Aunt Clara looked vaguely alarmed. "No, it's nothing about the woman. I just remembered I had to go make a delivery at Dale's today." She turned to leave. "Promise me you won't do anything stupid until I get back?"  
"Isn't that my line?" Aunt Clara asked.

Anna sighed. "Maybe. It's just, your sense of tact-"

"I promise," Aunt Clara said.

Anna was nearly out the door when her aunt spoke again. "I nearly killed her," she said.

The words hung heavy in the air. "It was when I discovered there wasn't any frostbite."

"After Permafrost, no one would have blamed you."

"That's what scares me. I had the syringe in my hand—" She shook her head. "I couldn't do it. She was in my care—I guess it's true what they say. Being around Epics really does bring out the worst in people."

"You didn't do it. That's what matters," Anna said. _Not to mention even if you had, it may have been a public service._

Aunt Clara shook her head. "I'll have to live with it, either way."

"There's another thing, too," Anna said. "The whole setup, how I found her-"She paused, trying to figure out how to word her next sentence. "You don't walk into the storm by accident. And if you do it on purpose, you don't do it in a T-shirt."

Aunt Clara put her hand on her face. "This is just getting messier and messier."

Anna shrugged. "I don't know," she said. "Maybe she thought her powers would protect her from the cold."

"You don't think so."

"I really don't know," Anna said. The alternative was impossible. Most Epics were arrogance personified. She had never heard of one doing something like killing themselves.

"I'll just be happier when she's gone," Aunt Clara said. "Something weird is going on, and we have other things to worry about right now." She put her hands on her hips. "Speaking of which-"

"I know, I'll get going. Let me know if anything happens."

The woman on the hospital bed was not supposed to wake up. She stared up at the blank, white ceiling, in shock. The woman had fallen asleep in the middle of a snowstorm, far from any civilization or hope of rescue. The chances of someone finding her were probably less than a million to one. Still—Whatever. All it meant was that she was luckier than she had any right to be.

Another woman, graying and probably in her sixties or seventies, came over to her side and folded her arms. "You're awake," she said. "You sure chose a funny place to go for a walk."

"Doc-"the injured woman said. The woman was probably some kind of doctor, right? "Thanks for the pickup and all, but you really should have left me where I was."

Nobody said anything for several seconds. The silence was broken by a young, short-haired blonde woman bursting through the door. "I heard voices," she said very quickly. "It's good to see you're awake." She stuck out her hand. "I'm Anna, and this is my aunt Clara." The woman on the bed stared at her outstretched hand. "What's your name?"

_Going straight for the hard questions,_ _I see_, thought the nameless woman. She tried to speak the name she had used many times before this, but it didn't fit. _No,_ she thought. _No more lies. I need something different this time._ She wracked her brain. The names she had used before seemed so _corny_, so stale. She smiled. _What could be more novel than the truth?_ "Ash," she finally said. "Short for Ashley."

Calamity, that name still sounded odd. Whatever. It wasn't as if she'd be using it for very long. If everything went well, she would be out of town as soon as Clara would let her. Or as soon as she could sneak out. Whichever happened first. She looked up at Anna and Clara. They were unnaturally thin, and their faces seemed far more lined than they should have been, even for someone of Clara's age. They had clearly suffered more than enough. _No need to add to it_, she thought.

Clara folded her arms. "You didn't answer my question," she said.

"Wait," Ash said, more than a touch of sarcasm in her voice. "You were asking one?"

"Let me make it clearer," Clara said. "Who are you, and what are you doing here?"

Anna glared at her, the bright tone of her voice slipping momentarily. "What happened to not disturbing the patient?" she said. Clara ignored her and continued glaring at Ash.

Ash chose her words carefully. "I was—traveling. I saw the snow, and got curious." Best not to tell them her real reason for being out there. "And I'm no one special," she said. That part was mostly true.

Clara turned away to look at her notes and grumbled something about "natural selection."

Sensing a lull in the conversation, Anna jumped in. "Sorry," she said. "She can be a bit gruff with people she doesn't know well."

Anna's aunt put up air quotes. " 'She' is right here." Anna groaned and shook her head.

"So you're the good cop?" Ash said.

Anna stared at her aunt again. "This isn't _supposed_ to be an interrogation."

Clara turned to Anna. "We know nothing about this woman," she said. "We need to be cautious."

"I can't think of any way she could make things any worse than they are now," Anna said. "I know you're still scared from what happened last time, but I don't think that's what's going on here."

"You were too trusting last time, too."

"If it were like last time, I think we'd know by now."

As they continued to argue, Ash wondered how long it would take for them to realize she was still sitting there. She cautiously cleared her throat. Both women stopped talking and stared at Ash. "Um, stupid question, but what's this 'last time' everyone keeps referring to?"

Anna sighed and started to respond, but was cut off by Clara. "A few months back, we found a young man in a very similar situation to you." Clara gave Ash a look that seemed to bore into her very soul. "As we later found out, he was an Epic."

Oh. _ If they find out what I am_, Ash thought, _it is not going to be pretty._ Luckily for everyone involved, she wasn't going to stick around long enough for anyone to do that. "I take it he reacted with the typical amount of gratitude?" _Though, that said, the fact that they're both still alive and have all their limbs suggests more gratitude than most._

Anna winced. "You could say that."

"And I don't suppose the unseasonable snowstorm outside has anything to do with this?"

"Yeah," she said.

"Figured. It seemed permanent even for here."

"Like I said, you chose the wrong place to take a walk."

"Ah." There was a long silence.

"So, what do you like to do for fun?" Anna said, in a transparent attempt to change the subject. The tone of her voice was as cheerful as ever. _How can she be so sparking _perky,Ash thought. _Doesn't she realize it's the end of the world?_

It was a few seconds before Ash realized she had forgotten to answer her question. _What am I even going to say_, she thought. _Most of the hobbies I've had recently really aren't fit for polite company. Or any company, really._ Ash scrunched up her face. "I used to act pre-Calamity."

"That's...recent," Anna said.

"I mostly just sit around and brood, now," Ash said. Ah, sarcasm. The greatest defense against ever having to give people straight answers.

Anna's face fell. _Sparks, I could make a mint off her at poker,_ Ash thought. "Let me guess, that's your hobby, too?"

An almost wistful look crossed Anna's face. "Not exactly," she said.

"If you're done with that 'fascinating' conversation," Clara said, making Anna jump. "I'd like to talk to my niece." She glared at Ash. "In private."

"I trust you won't run off?"

Ash looked at the hospital bed she was lying in, and lack of any doors besides the one the two women were exiting through. "Wouldn't dream of it." Yet.

Once they were safely out of earshot, Anna glared at her aunt. "What was that about? I know you don't like strangers much, but that was ridiculous."

"You know what happened with Permafrost," Aunt Clara said.

"I'm pretty sure at this point, Permafrost did a helluva lot more than just make a few snarky comments." Anna sighed. "Anyway, if she is an Epic, do you really think the best move is deliberately antagonizing her?"

"I wasn't trying—"

"I know. You never do." Anna wiped at her face. "Sparks. I'm crying again."

Aunt Clara opened her arms up to give Anna a hug. She smiled, and hugged her aunt back. After a few seconds, she let go. "Try to be nice, at least until she's gone," Anna said. "You're the only family I've got."

"I suppose whatever I say won't matter if she ends up killing us in our sleep."

Anna glared at her aunt. "Don't even joke about that."

"At least she'll be better in a few days and then we'll be back to Permafrost killing us as usual."

Anna looked up at her aunt and smiled. "Something tells me not even that's gonna last forever."

"You are entirely too optimistic."

"You might be right." Anna shook her head. "I'm still not sure that's a bad thing, though."

Anna sighed. "There's something else, isn't there," Aunt Clara said.

"Yeah," Anna said. "I've been thinking about how we found her. What's to say she won't just get better, leave, then try the same thing again?"

"Anna, we have more important things to deal with."

"Like what? We claim we're trying to survive here, but we don't do the one thing we know can save ourselves."

"We've talked about this before." Aunt Clara crossed her arms. "And none of this changes the fact that we have a ticking time bomb living under our roof."

"I know. This still doesn't sit right with me," Anna said. She turned to leave. "Anyway, I have some prep work I need to do for my next run. Let me know if anything happens?"

"Stay warm," Aunt Clara said.

–

The rest of the day passed quietly. Anna was busy with preparing for a trip to one of the outlying ruins to look for supplies, and Aunt Anna, as usual, had her hands full not only with the new patient but with the myriad other smaller cases that were common in towns that small and remote.

The next morning, Anna stopped by the Ash's room on the way to her chores. The woman was sitting up in her bed, pondering the ceiling above her. She looked up as soon as Anna walked in. "You wouldn't know where I'd find a deck of cards, would you? I'm bored."

"I could probably round one up." Anna looked at the patient. "How are you doing?"

"Running out of ways to count the ceiling tiles. You?"

Anna shrugged. "Still alive, at least." She closed her eyes. "I guess it's as much as I can hope for." Anna looked at Ash for signs that she might be hiding something. She didn't want Aunt Clara to be right, but if she was, it was better to find out now rather than later when a knife was sticking in her back.

Ash seemed friendly enough, even though she was definitely omitting things from her story. _I mean seriously, 'saw the snow and was curious?', _Anna thought.

"You're staring," Ash said.

"Right. Sorry. Got distracted for a moment."

"I can have that effect on people."

Anna blushed. "It's not that." _Definitely not that. Strange women who may or may not want to murder me in my sleep are not my type,_ she thought. Anna closed her eyes. _Sparks, I'm starting to sound like my Aunt Clara._ "I've just been kind of tired lately."

Ash looked Anna over. "You definitely look it." She paused. "Maybe we should swap. You can get in the bed and take a nap, while I can go do whatever you're planning on doing."

_Like that's ever going to happen._ "I'm pretty sure Aunt Clara would kill me if she knew I did that. I'm just tired. You nearly died."

"You don't look so far away from it, yourself," Ash said.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that." Anna really hoped that Ash wasn't trying to imply a death threat or anything like that._ Granted, _implied _death threats aren't really most Epics' style. _Though she didn't have much personal experience, most of the stories that had filtered down to her had them being about as subtle as a truckload of bricks.

"Wait, that came out-"Ash paused. "I meant that you look like a walking skeleton. Wait-" Ash stopped. "Sorry. I'm not used to-" She paused, searching for a word. "Never mind."

Before Ash could dig herself any deeper, Anna interrupted her. "So, new topic?" _As long as she doesn't kill me for witnessing her making a complete and utter slontze of herself, this should be great._

"Do any of you have any lunch around here?" Ash asked. _Thank Calamity she got _that _hint. _

"About that..." Anna said.

"There isn't any."

"Um, yeah. We're kind of rationing." _Please don't kill me, please don't kill me. _

Ash buried her face in her hands. "Right." She looked up at Anna. "I am such a slontze."

How was she supposed to react with that? Generally pretending to agree with whatever an Epic happened to be saying at the moment was one of the keys to a longer life, but Anna had skipped the portion of the rulebook that dealt with stuff like this. _Who knows, maybe Aunt Clara is wrong about this one. Permafrost would have killed me like five times in this conversation, and he's not even one of the more hands-on ones. "_I'm—sorry to hear that?" she stammered. Noncommittal. Noncommittal was good.

Ash waved her hand. "Eh, it's not exactly new."

Anna backed toward the door. "I—I'm going to get you that deck of cards now," she said. Also, leaving was good.

"Thanks," Ash said. "Tell you what, I'll show you some card tricks tonight. Not promising they'll be all that great, but still. I don't want to be completely useless around here."

Anna gave Ash a weak smile. "I look forward to that." She opened the door, walked out, then popped her head back in. "Try to get some rest, please?" With that, she shut the door behind her, and let out a huge breath.

What even was that about? Ash couldn't have been more terrifying if she had been actively trying to kill her. At least then Anna would know where the attacks were coming from. And, with all probability, wouldn't live long enough to worry about it for very long. Here? Even as someone who _liked_ getting to know people, there were so many pitfalls that could have so easily gotten her killed with no warning. Yet, none of those traps had actually gone off. There was something weird going on here, even beyond Aunt Clara's theory about the mystery woman being an Epic.

Anna had a sinking feeling that, one way or another, she would have to find out.


	4. Chapter 3: And the Night is Closing In

**A/N: Posting this early because it's on the shorter side. I've been getting a bit distracted by a new fandom, but I should be able to finish this. Thanks for the patience, for anyone who is still reading this. There's a bit of blood and mentions of death here. **

Chapter 3: And the Night is Closing In

July 10—07 AC

Ash thought, after six years, she'd be used to the nightmares, of tiny, closed in spaces and nowhere to run. But nightmares, like people, evolved. In the beginning, the figure who chased her was without form, a nameless figure who stood only for doom and destruction. But then, it had changed (or had it been that way all along?), stepped out of the shadows to reveal who it truly was.

No matter what face it wore, it was always her own.

Ash stared at the figure between the coats of the closet she was hiding (trapped) in. The creature (it couldn't be her) paced the floor only feet in front of her. Had it (she) noticed her? She reached within herself, trying to call forward her strength, strength that any other day could have crushed bones and rended flesh. None came. And, though she had no proof, she knew instinctively that if the thing hurt her, it wouldn't heal.

A voice, one that sounded all too familiar, came from the creature.

"Hiding as usual," her voice said. "And you called yourself a god."

Ash huddled closer into the closet. Her duplicate's face changed before her eyes, shifting through many different people's faces. Faces that had been hers. Faces she had stolen. "They hid too," she said, her voice speaking with the weight of fifteen different people. "Ran and hid and screamed for their lives."

Her duplicate looked her in the eye. "But you don't know anything about that." She tore through a layer of coats. Ash skittered to the side, into the very corner of the coat closet.

She reached out at Ash, brandished a large, threatening knife at her, and grinned a wide, toothy smile that didn't reach up to her eyes. Her face changed into another, that of Maelstrom, the Epic who had destroyed her school. So many lifetimes ago, that was."Would you," she said. She slashed at Ash, who just barely managed to roll out of the way. Her back bumped against the wall.

There was nowhere left to run where her duplicate couldn't get to her.

Her duplicate smiled again, raised her knife, and plunged it down towards her heart.

Ash woke to darkness and the feeling of cold metal against her head. She shook her head, trying to shake off her remaining grogginess. A familiar voice came out of the darkness.

"Move again and I promise, I will shoot you," said Clara. Cold metal. Gun. Right.

Ash breathed in. It wasn't exactly as if she didn't deserve this, but-"Why?" was all she managed to stammer out.

"Don't bullshit me."

Ash blinked her eyes. What could she say to figure out what was going on that wouldn't earn her a bullet in the head? She sighed. Clara wouldn't be pointing a gun at her if she didn't know at least some of the truth. "I admit-"she broke off. How was she going to word this one? 'Sorry, I may have fibbed about being secretly a homicidal ticking time bomb with superpowers?' She had a feeling that answer would get her shot for sure. "I've lied to you," she finally admitted.

"Pretty damn big lie," Clara said, still keeping the rifle pointed at Ash's head.

"How did you know?" Ash asked. If she could only figure out which lie Clara had figured out. Ash feared it was the worst one (well, among the worst), but there was still a chance it was something else.

"I'm a doctor. You seriously believe I wouldn't notice you healed too quickly."

Right. That would explain the chilly reception from earlier. Not to mention Helen looking like she was about to flee the room every time Ash so much as looked in her direction. Time to start making peace with whatever deities may or may not exist. _Or figure out how to punch them in the face_. "I really was hoping you wouldn't," Ash said. "Is there anything I can say that could possibly get you to put that gun down?"

The gun pressed itself further into her scalp. Ash gulped. Though it was dark, she could tell the look in the woman's eyes. It was a desperate, wild look, that of a cornered animal. It was the look of a woman who would do anything to save that last, tiny bit of what she had to lose. Ash knew that look all too well.

"You've been playing with us this whole time. Why?" Her last word seemed almost more of a statement than a question. Ash bit back the urge to strangle the woman for the insult. The woman seemed so fragile and brittle despite her rage, and a part of her brain relished the mental image of breaking every bone in her body for daring to question her. And she could do it, too. Ash was fast, faster than any human had a right to be, and Clara was beyond her prime. She could kill her before she even thought about pulling the trigger.

More images flashed, unbidden, through her head. Standing alone, the only sound around her the flies buzzing around pools of blood. The blood of friends. And the stench as the corpses rotted in the midday sunlight. The cycle repeating, over and over until she was beyond caring.

_No. I will not be that person again_, Ash thought.

Ash bowed her head, then looked back up at Clara. She took in a deep breath. There would be no going back from this. "I was fooling myself, too." The words hung there in the darkness. Ash winced. "Pretending I was like you. Pretending I was _human._"

Clara scoffed. "So this is the part where you tell me to kneel before my god?"

"No." Ash closed her eyes. Were those tears she felt? No. Just gunk in her eyes from sleep. Nothing more. "This is the part where I ask you to shoot me."

"Now there's a switch," Clara said. "I'm not senile enough to fall for that one." Sparks, the woman thought she was trying reverse psychology, didn't she?

"I'm being serious, you fucking slontze," Ash said, way more forcefully than she intended. _The darkness is catching up with me, _Ash thought. _It's only a matter of time before—_No. It would end tonight. Before anyone else got hurt. "I am a ticking time bomb. If you let me live, I will explode."

"Why haven't you done that already?"

Ash sighed. How could she explain this to someone who never knew what the darkness felt like? "Because I'm not that person. Not right now. But if I use my powers, one slip-up, one mistake in judgment-"she paused. What was she even doing? "And every second you let me live you're risking me making that mistake." Ash closed her eyes. Memories of blood, of screaming, and worst of all that horribly satisfying feeling that it was all perfectly _right_ washed over her. "And believe me, it's a mistake you won't survive."

There was silence for a few moments. "What are you waiting for?" Ash snarled at Clara.

"No," Clara said.

Wait, what? Ash bit back harsh words. How dare she refuse her, when it was clearly so much in everyone's best interests? "What did you say?" she said, her tone low.

"No," Clara said, this time louder. "If you're telling the truth-" she broke off. "If you're telling the truth, then you aren't a threat right now, and you won't ever be if you don't use your powers."

"If you want to off yourself, it's your own business." Though it was dark, Ash could almost see the eye roll. "I'm not going to help you. There's been more than enough death here." Ash felt the weight of the gun easing off her head.

"It will be your own ruin, then."

Clara pushed the gun against Ash's head. "But-" she paused for emphasis. "If you use your powers, or if you've been fucking with me the entire time, or if you even _think _about harming Helen, I'm going to make you wish I'd shot you right now."

Ash gulped. Clara was a medical doctor. She knew enough about anatomy to get creative. _And probably enough about sedatives to make sure I don't fight back,_ Ash thought. "Is that clear?" Clara said.

"Crystal," Ash said. Granted, it wasn't exactly as if she wanted everything that had happened the previous times she had lost control. She usually hadn't even planned on using her powers at all. It just kind of happened. _No accidents_, Ash thought. _Not this time_.

One thing was clear. She needed to run away before anything happened. Getting attached would only doom these people. _More than they were already doomed,_ Ash thought. This town needed a hero badly. Too bad Ash was just about the last person who could give them one. _No. That will not happen again. Remember what you are,_ she thought.

"Good." Clara holstered her gun and turned to leave.

"One thing," Ash said. "In the unlikely event something like this happens again, do yourself a favor and shoot the person you're suspicious of before they wake up. If I was literally any other Epic, you would be dead by now."

A long sigh came from Clara's direction. "I can't promise that."

"Poison works too, if you're worried about the noise."

"No." Another sigh. "I swore an oath. I'm not about to break that lightly."

And people wondered why the Fractured States had so few people left with any convictions. Ash pondered how to reply to something like that tactfully. "I guess that's your choice, then."

Ash heard a creak as the door shut behind Clara.

"I hope this will be the last time we speak of this."

Ash waited until Clara's steps had faded into the distance before speaking.

"Me too."

–

Nearly a hundred miles away, in a place that still knew warmth, it was also night.

"Is that all?" Lydia Chambers, Evan's new team leader, asked.

"Most of it," Evan said. "To be honest, I didn't catch all of what happened. It was all over so quickly." He paused. "I'm almost positive on the weakness, though. She turned and ran as soon as I tried it."

"I'll have Charlie look over your report. I'm sure you're correct, but-"Lydia broke off.

"He likes checking himself. Probably best to have an experienced set of eyes take a look at it anyway," Evan said.

"And you're certain your past with her won't get in the way of the mission?"

Evan sighed. Of course this question would come. To be honest, it had taken him quite a while to even answer it for himself. "You're familiar with the two main theories on why Epics hurt people, right? If it's one of them, she was probably lying to all of us the entire time and thus deserves it."

"And if it's the other?"

"If what I knew of Julie was at all correct, I think she'd understand." Evan looked down at his feet, trying to gather his thoughts. He sighed. "That night-" He broke off. When he spoke again, his voice was ragged. "I don't know. It was like she was a completely different person."

"People surprise us," Lydia said. Her eyes were far away."Not always in good ways."

"You knew someone."

"Evan, you know the rule." She paused. "Yes."

"I won't ask any more, I swear." Evan paused, taking a moment to collect himself, giving a weak smile to Lydia. "So. What's the plan?"


End file.
